Chapter 3…
The Abandoned Cabin in the Forest and the Sound of Rebirth’s Hammer
The second morning dawned at the shelter. The chirping of small birds echoed through the forest, and the children’s faces were visibly more relaxed than the day before. Even so, the fear of being attacked by wild animals again—or running out of food—still lingered.
Akio carefully gathered the leftover firewood, mentally organizing their plan of action for the day.
“Alright, everyone. Today, I want to go a little farther to look for food. And I also want to find a place where we can live more safely,” he said.
The children looked back at him with a mix of anxiety and hope.
“Ayane and Alto, you’ll come with me. Kenta, you’re the man of the house—hold down the fort. Keep an eye on Miko and Yume, and make sure the area around the shelter stays safe. But whatever you do, don’t go too far.”
“Got it!” Kenta puffed up his chest a little, proud to be trusted with the responsibility. Ayane and Alto nodded and began preparing for departure.
The three of them cautiously set out in a different direction than the day before. Before long, they heard the distant sound of water.
“…That’s the sound of a river,” Akio said, stopping to listen carefully.
The sound grew clearer and louder as they drew nearer. Pushing through the brush, their view suddenly opened up to reveal a small, clear stream.
“Wow…!” Ayane couldn’t help but exclaim. Alto’s eyes sparkled as he ran forward.
The pure water flowed gently between rocks, glittering under the sunlight. All three of them knelt by the water, their faces filled with thirst and relief.
“We’re saved… We won’t have to worry about drinking water for a while,” Akio said as he cupped water in his hands and brought it to his mouth. The cold, clear taste seeped into every corner of his body.
Memorizing the stream’s location carefully, Akio pressed on. His years of fieldwork had trained his instincts—by reading the terrain and the way plants grew, he could guess where people or animals might have passed, and where water sources might be nearby.
“Akio-san, look! There are lots of red berries over there!” Alto pointed.
“Good. Let’s check them out. But don’t eat any until I say so.”
Fortunately, they turned out to be the same edible berries they had found the day before. The three of them split up to collect them, using large leaves as makeshift baskets.
After a while, Akio suddenly stopped.
“Hmm…? This is…”
On the ground were unnaturally straight grooves, and a line of old tree stumps placed at even intervals. Beneath the tall grass, faint traces of a path trodden down by human feet could be seen.
“Someone must have used this place a long time ago,” Akio murmured.
Ayane and Alto tensed at his words, imagining what kind of people—or creatures—might have once been here.
“It’s okay. These are old. Let’s proceed carefully,” Akio reassured them, shielding the two children behind him as he followed the traces.
The path eventually led them to a small clearing. At its center stood a small building, half-swallowed by the forest, covered in ivy and moss.
“A cabin…!” Ayane gasped.
It was a simple log cabin. Part of the roof had collapsed, and the gaps in the walls allowed a view straight through to the other side. The door still barely held its shape, though it leaned precariously. It was obvious that no human hands had tended to it for many years.
“Probably a woodcutter’s or a hunter’s temporary shelter,” Akio guessed.
He approached cautiously, surveying the area. The foundation was nothing more than stacked stones, but the thick support pillars were still firmly planted.
“Akio-san… do you think we can use this place?” Alto asked hesitantly.
“Yeah. If we fix it up, it’ll be far better than the shelter from yesterday,” Akio replied.
He placed a hand on the tilted door and slowly pushed it open. Inside, it was dim and smelled strongly of dust and mold. Dead leaves were piled on the floor. Along the walls lay rusted, well-worn tools—an axe, a handsaw, a chipped machete—and in the corner, a small, soot-covered pot lay on its side.
“Some tools are still here. That’s a blessing,” Akio said, picking up the rusted axe. The handle was half-rotten, but the axe head itself was still thick and solid. He unconsciously murmured in his heart, “One more job, old friend.” At that moment, it felt as if the caked-on rust loosened slightly. With some care, it might still be perfectly usable.
Turning back to the children, Akio declared with conviction,
“Alright—let’s make this our new home!”
Ayane and Alto’s faces lit up.
“Really!? Yay!”
“There are walls and a roof…!”
They began by clearing the ivy and weeds that had grown thickly around the cabin. Akio used a sharp stone as a hand axe to cut through the vines. Ayane pulled up the weeds he pointed out, while Alto carried away the thick vines Akio had cut.
In the afternoon, Akio returned to the shelter to bring Kenta, Miko, and Yume. When they heard about the cabin, they were overjoyed. Kenta used his boundless energy to haul branches, while Miko and Yume picked up trash and stones from the ground with their tiny hands.
Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and their cheeks were smudged with dirt. But their expressions were vibrant and full of life. The sense that they were building a “home” with their own hands—and the presence of a dependable adult like Akio—was pushing them forward.
Akio carefully assessed which parts of the roof structure could still be used, which sections needed replacing, and how to seal the gaps in the walls. They didn’t have many tools, but they had the ones left in the cabin, the stone tools they’d made yesterday, and—above all—his own skills.
“Today, we’ll focus on cleaning up the area and securing a place to sleep. Real repairs start tomorrow,” he instructed.
“Okay!” the children responded cheerfully.
By evening, the area around the cabin looked almost unrecognizable. Inside, the piles of leaves and debris had been cleared away. There were still holes in the roof and gaps in the walls that would let the wind in. But the simple fact of being able to sleep inside a “building” with four walls gave the children a profound sense of security.
As Akio prepared the campfire, he looked up at the cabin.
“This should make for a better night’s sleep… Tomorrow, the real work begins.”
His voice carried both exhaustion and a firm sense of accomplishment and determination for the future. Around him, the cheerful voices of the children echoed softly through the forest.
